"Oh? An External Martial Soul actually has such an overpowering effect? Then in the future, wouldn't you be able to-"
Lou Gao broke off mid-sentence. Tremendously excited, he patted Long Qianming's shoulder in delight, then lowered his voice and said,
"Kid Long, you're going to be extraordinary! A thousand years for your second ring, three thousand for your third... by your seventh ring, you might be able to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring directly! That would rival a divine miracle!"
Long Qianming said nothing in response. He merely nodded, silently acknowledging what Lou Gao had said.
Still, Lou Gao found it a little hard to believe. He wanted to see whether Long Qianming could successfully absorb his Second Soul Ring.
"Kid, go ahead and absorb the Soul Ring without worry. With me here, as long as no recklessly stubborn Soul Beast shows up, I can handle things with ease."
"Thank you, Senior. There are still some Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in this mountain range. You mustn't let your guard down."
After giving that reminder, Long Qianming immediately sat cross-legged on the spot and circulated the Soul Power within his body, drawing the Black Flame Earth Dragon Python's Purple Soul Ring into himself.
The immense energy accumulated within the Soul Ring was more than twice that of his first ring. Guided by his Soul Power, vast quantities of energy surged endlessly through his meridians like a mighty, rolling river.
Standing guard beside him the entire time, Lou Gao watched Long Qianming's somewhat pale face and the trails of cold sweat dripping down it, filled with worry.
"Kid, I hope what you said about your Martial Soul sharing the burden wasn't just empty boasting, but the truth."
Soon, after weathering the fierce initial influx of the Soul Ring's energy, Long Qianming's discomfort gradually faded. Instead, a new sense of pleasure arose.
Lou Gao's concern slowly ebbed away. Unexpectedly, a glance to the side left him rooted to the spot once more.
Oh! His eyes were drawn to an exceptionally magnificent sight.
Beside Long Qianming, Xiao Tian's bones made creaking, grinding noises. Gradually, his plump belly visibly grew longer and slimmer.
Some of the fur on his body had already fallen away, replaced by black scales scattered like spots across his slender, four-meter-long body.
Xiao Tian's pig head was also narrowing, and his snout had shrunk by two sizes. His fat, drooping ears gradually became shorter, narrower, and more pointed. By now, his appearance faintly resembled a dragon.
"Isn't this beneficial mutation of an External Martial Soul far too extreme? Could this also be one of its advantages?"
Lou Gao stared in astonishment at the evolving Xiao Tian. Under normal circumstances, the beneficial mutations a Martial Soul underwent after absorbing a Soul Ring altered some of its features according to the Soul Skill's effects.
But this External Martial Soul's mutation was so thorough that it was simply beyond what a mere Soul Ring could change.
"Could this also be an advantage of an External Martial Soul?"
An External Martial Soul was itself an extremely special kind of Soul Beast. Given the way Soul Beasts mutated through devouring, it was entirely reasonable for it to acquire some features of other Soul Beasts after devouring them.
It was just a pity that Xiao Tian's mutations were becoming increasingly peculiar. Before, his general species could still be identified, but now he had become a Martial Soul that resembled nothing in particular. He could be called a fusion of tiger, pig, dog, and snake, with a little of a dragon's appearance as well.
Lou Gao put on a sigh.
"Ah! I can only wait until this kid wakes up and ask him then."
Three hours later, as the first ray of sunlight rose over the horizon and shone across the entire Earth Dragon Mountain Range, Long Qianming slowly awoke from his meditative state.
"Sure enough, you didn't lie to this old man. A Thousand-Year Soul Ring as your Second Soul Ring-this is nothing short of a miracle."
Delighted, Lou Gao hurried forward and asked,
"Kid Long, what level is your Soul Power now? And what is your Soul Ring skill?"
"Senior, my Soul Power increased by three levels. As for the Soul Skill, it's a little..."
As he spoke, Long Qianming instead grew somewhat dejected.
"My Second Soul Skill is called World-Burning Black Flame. It allows Xiao Tian to release black flames formed from Darkness Qi. As long as I have enough Soul Power, even burning the Star Dou Great Forest to ashes wouldn't be difficult."
Long Qianming had hoped his Second Soul Ring would ideally give him another enhancement-type Soul Skill that granted him a small boost. He had never expected his Second Soul Skill's effect to be inheriting the Black Flame Earth Dragon Python's fire-breathing skill.
The only thing that satisfied him was that the Second Soul Skill's power was controlled by Darkness Qi. As long as Xiao Tian had enough darkness origin and his strength increased, the flames would become increasingly powerful.
In other words, his Second Soul Skill counted as a growth-type Soul Skill.
Lou Gao keenly picked up on Long Qianming's dissatisfaction with his Soul Skill and continued to console him.
"Don't underestimate a flame Soul Skill. Those flames inherited some of the Black Flame Earth Dragon Python's traits. You should be content!"
"How about this? Use your Second Soul Skill on me. I want to see just how powerful a thousand-year second ring really is."
Hearing this, Long Qianming hesitated. Although his Second Soul Skill was only a fire-breathing skill, its true power lay in the ultimate dark flames formed from Darkness Qi.
Using it against a support-type Soul Master like Lou Gao might injure him. Long Qianming immediately refused Lou Gao's request to test it.
"Senior, the flames of my Second Soul Skill aren't weak flames like the Black Flame Earth Dragon Python's. I'm afraid-"
"Just come at me, kid! Could a mere Second Soul Skill really injure a Soul Saint like me?"
Lou Gao was thoroughly confident in his own strength. Even if he was only a support-type Soul Master with little offensive power, he still had the powerful physique of a Soul Saint. Taking a thousand-year Soul Skill head-on would pose little problem.
Besides, he was wearing the latest Ruyi Soft Armor, which could easily withstand sustained attacks from an ordinary Soul Ancestor.
"All right, Senior. Be careful!"
"Second Soul Skill, World-Burning Black Flame."
A Purple Soul Ring rose from beneath Long Qianming's feet and encircled Xiao Tian. With a thought from Long Qianming, Xiao Tian immediately charged toward Lou Gao.
At that moment, his four-meter-long beastly body looked so incongruous.
"Kid, that Martial Soul of yours really is comical."
Lou Gao tried to control his expression and maintain the image of a solemn elder as best he could, but the sight of Xiao Tian running nearly made him lose control.
Just as he reined in his amusement, Xiao Tian pushed off with his hind legs and leaped into the air. A mass of black energy had already finished gathering in his throat.
"Roar-"
With a cry that sounded like a dragon yet not a dragon, a tiger yet not a tiger, violent black flames sprayed from his mouth, shooting straight toward Lou Gao below.
Seeing this, Lou Gao quickly took out a golden shield and held it directly in front of himself.
"Kid, your Second Soul Skill is still a little weak. It can't even melt a battlefield shield."
"Is that so?"
The next instant, the flames Xiao Tian spewed intensified once more, and the shield in Lou Gao's hands turned into a puddle of molten iron in the blink of an eye.